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Auto Repair Estimate Calculator

Build a shop-style repair estimate in seconds. Enter your book hours and shop rate, add the parts, and the tiered markup, shop supplies, and tax roll up into the customer total — with your profit shown.

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You priced the job. Now run it like a business.

That's the hard part done. SideWRK runs the rest from your phone: text the estimate, your customer taps approve, and the money hits — card, Apple Pay, Venmo, Cash App, or Zelle, no merchant account, no three-percent bite. It keeps a line on who still owes you, logs every material and cost so your real profit and your tax write-offs tally themselves, and stands up a free website with reviews that feeds you the next job. A free estimate today, or your whole operation in one app. Built for auto repair and every trade.

Estimate → approve → get paidCard, Apple Pay & VenmoSee who still owes youFollow up, keep customersCosts tracked for taxesFree website & reviews
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Show the profit, not just the total

A repair estimate is only useful if you can see your money in it. Labor is your margin — book the hours honestly and set a rate that covers the bay, the tools, and the tech. Parts are a smaller margin but real money, so run the matrix instead of eyeballing it. Keep the supplies fee modest and legal, tax the parts, and the total takes care of itself while your profit stays in plain sight.

Questions

How do shops calculate a repair estimate?
Labor is book hours (flat-rate time from a guide like Mitchell or ALLDATA) times the shop hourly rate, which runs $80–$180 depending on the shop and region — independents around $120, dealers $150-plus. Parts are marked up over your cost, shop supplies add a small fee, and parts are usually taxed. Add it up and that is the customer total.
How much do shops mark up parts?
On a sliding scale — cheap parts get the biggest markup and expensive ones the smallest. A common matrix: parts under $10 at 3×, $10–$50 at 2×, $50–$200 at 1.7×, $200–$500 at 1.5×, tapering to about 1.2–1.3× on parts over $1,000. It covers the time to source, stock, and warranty the part, and keeps big-ticket quotes competitive.
What is a shop supplies fee?
A small charge, usually 5–10% of labor capped around $20–$50, that covers rags, cleaner, gloves, and hazmat disposal — the consumables too small to itemize. Some states (like California) require it to reflect actual cost with no markup, so keep it modest.
Is this calculator free?
Yes. It runs entirely in your browser, there is no sign-up, and nothing is stored anywhere but your own device.

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